I have become very aware of not staying in someones blind spot for very long. Not just big rigs, but the average SUV has big blind spots and many drivers just don't set their mirrors correctly to cover them. They set the side mirrors looking right back down the lane looking at trailing traffic just like the overhead rearview instead of covering their blind spots.
Very interesting thread, and I'll invite comments now on this aspect....I made several posts earlier, and some may have noticed that I never use the word "accident." That's a habit I've adopted in my news writing (and I insist on it from anyone who works for me) that I picked up from a hard-ass state trooper during a ride-along I did. He said the word "accident" implies that no one was at fault. His take was that there's always something that could have been done to avoid the crash, whether its safe operation or maintenance. The crash in Centerville I mentioned.....some might say, "tire failure, no one was at fault." But would the crash have happened if the car hadn't been on 10 year old tires? So how's everyone else feel about it? In your experiences, have you ever been in a truly unavoidable crash? I know every one I've been in could have been avoided, either by more care from me or the other guy.
One other thing, unrelated to the question I just posed. The thread topic asked about wrecks we've been in "or seen". Its a very different experience to witness a crash. I saw one occur not long ago....guy tried a left turn at a light and didn't see a car coming from the other direction. Even at fairly slow speed, the car (minivan, actually) that made the bad turn was lifted off the ground. No one was hurt...point being, they can look bad even when they're not.
About 17 years ago I lost control of my little Ford Ranger pick up on a windy and wet highway. The back end slipped out on a turn and I spun through the grass median and stopped on the other side of the road with a F-150 smashing into me. We both walked away unharmed. 6 years ago I was driving to work at 5:30 am drinking coffee, listening to the radio, and minding my own business as I crossed through an intersection with my green light and out of nowhere a car zoomed through and I T-boned it on the driver's side. He went spinning off the road and I stayed right in the middle with my front end blown to pieces. As I was gaining my senses I noticed a police car right on the spot. Damn I thought that was quick. It turns out he was chasing this guy. The guy was an 18 year old. Spoke no English. He was .17 alcohol content and in possession of cocaine. No insurance. He was going at a high rate of speed and it was said that I was lucky to be the one to t-bone him instead of the other way around. He was so bombed that he thought he was 20 miles away from where we actually were and said he didn't even know a police car was chasing him. I still get goosebumps when I cross that intersection. My right foot swelled and I got x-rays. They were negative but to this day if I run too much or (like this weekend) do too much heavy work my foot swells a bit. I am now highly sensitive to my surroundings when I drive (and to my wife's annoyance) I set the cruise no more than 10 mph over the speed limit. Insurance companies bet that once you get in a wreck the chances of getting in another are much greater. I don't want to go out like that.
Everything wreck can be traced back to a root cause. I guess it depends on where the line is drawn that something (reasonably) different could have been done. A car manufacturer can be blamed for a part failure and sued but would that be out of your hands.
I have had two deer jump my car. Not at interstate speeds, but on dirt roads, going about thirtty. One, I never saw until I noticed motion outside the passenger window. The second jumped over the hood. First thing I saw was deer tits. If either had been inches closer, that would have been an accident . I have noticed that collision repair places have ditched, over time, the word accident. Drive safe.
Just because the person(s) who could have done something different wasn't on the scene of a wreck doesn't mean their actions could have prevented it. The manufacturer could have made a product prone to wrecking and quality control should of caught the defects.
